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97,000 Minnesotans are projected to have Alzheimer’s disease this year, touching so many of our lives in one way or another.

On Thursday, Jan. 30, Dr. Joseph Gaugler from the University of Minnesota will be at the Albert Lea Fire Department to give a presentation to Freeborn County residents. He is traveling across the state this year delivering Alzheimer’s related resources directly to Minnesotans in their communities. The exact same 90-minute program will be offered twice on that day, giving you an option to choose which time works best for you: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 2 to 3:30 p.m. Join us, or if you know a caregiver, offer to hang out with the person they care for so they can join us. If you are interested but can’t join us, it will be livestreamed on the Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition’s Facebook page, and you should be able to find that recording of the event there as well.

In a recent interview in the Star Tribune this month, Gaugler said. “Families grappling with this difficult situation need credible information and community connections,” and, “inevitably people share their stories … about the challenges of getting a primary care provider to recognize memory loss. Or trying to navigate long-term care. People actually start to help each other at the talks. It’s not just me with a unidirectional flow of information.”

Dr. Gaugler’s research examines the sources and effectiveness of long-term care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other chronic conditions. An applied gerontologist, Dr. Gaugler’s interests include Alzheimer’s disease and long-term care, the longitudinal ramifications of family care for persons with dementia and other chronic conditions, and in the effectiveness of community-based and psychosocial services for older adults with dementia and their caregiving families.

I plan to be there and I hope to see you there.

Karen Thompson
Albert Lea